Man arrested for videotaping his roommate as she dressed for work

Monday

Aug 27, 2007 at 12:01 AMAug 27, 2007 at 11:06 AM

A Cambridge man was arrested Saturday after his roommate discovered he’d been videotaping her in the nude. Francisco Cortez, 37, was cuffed Saturday afternoon at his home and charged with photographing an unsuspecting person in the nude.

By Matt Dunning

A Cambridge man was arrested Saturday after his roommate discovered he’d been videotaping her in the nude.

Francisco Cortez, 37, was cuffed Saturday afternoon at his home and charged with photographing an unsuspecting person in the nude.

According to police, Cortez’ 33-year-old roommate reported that she’d found a video camera underneath a table in her room Friday morning. The victim told police she discovered the camera after getting dressed for work. After picking up the camera and noticing it wasn’t hers, she also noted it was recording.

When she confronted Cortez about the camera, he admitted it was his. When she asked why the camera was in her room, Cortez said he wanted to "keep track of her comings and goings,” according to police. Cortez also admitted he had been videotaping her for approximately one week, police said.

It wasn’t until after the victim confronted her roommate that she discovered what he had actually been doing, police said.

Later Friday afternoon, police said the victim was looking through the camera’s memory card when she discovered a 16-minute video, which begins with an image of Cortez' face. In the video, Cortez then placed the camera back in the spot where she later found it, hidden underneath a table in her room. The victim said approximately 10 minutes elapsed on the video showing only her empty bedroom.

The next image on the camera, police said, was of the victim. The victim said the camera showed her exiting the bathroom after taking a shower, wearing a towel. According to police, the video then shows her taking her towel off, with the victim unknowingly standing completely nude in front of the hidden camera in her bedroom. The video continued, as she got fully dressed. After she was fully dressed, she discovered the hidden camera.

After discovering the footage, the victim turned in the camera to police as evidence, and took out an emergency restraining order against Cortez.